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REMARKS 



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■y 



xION. B.^A^r BIDLACK, 

OF PENNSYLVANIA, 



OS THE BILL TO 



DISTRIBUTE THE PROCEEDS OF THE PUBLIC LANDS 



AMONG THE STATES 



DELIVERED IN THE 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 



THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1841. 



WASHINGTON : 

PRINTED AT THE GLOBE OFFICE 

184U 






APR 1 7 191? ^ 



SPEECH. 



In the House of Reprefenlatives, July Ij ]Sil — On 
the bill to distribuie the proceeds of the sa'es of 
the public lands, and to grant pre-ernptioa 
rights. The question pending being on the itjO- 
tion of Mr. Clifford to strike out the enacting 
clause — 

M'. BIDLACK obtained the floor, and ad- 
dressed the coramiitee at considerable length. The 
principal points of his argument ware as follows: 
Mr. B. said he could not regret having yielded 
the floor to the sentleman from Virginia, [Mr. 
GilmerJ and he (Mr. B.) thonght that the com- 
mittee would r.ot regret that he bad done so, espe- 
cially when be apprised thein that, the gentleman 
who had jast prxeded hlrri, had so far travelled 
over the track which he (Mr. B.) had marked out 
for himself, that he should be enabled to hasten 
throuf.h his argument wi-h mi-ch greater speed, 
and to conf^u-ne not more than balf the time which 
he h>.d calculated to occupy before that genileman 
submitted hi-, remark?. 

Although, when the bill was fir^t introduced, he 
(iVIr. B ) bad intended to ko-va gone into a full ex- 
amination of the ques ions grower 2: out of the dis- 
tribution principle, yet they had ben so fuily ex- 
amined by the gentlemen ^vho ha l p'ecsded him, 
that it was unnecesrary to do so. He had intended 
to have examined th? distiibution principle as con- 
nected with its effc^cts on the tariff question— in j 
connection with the constilutional qnestioa in 
volved — in conoeciion with the peculiar phraseo- 
logy of fh® compacts and deeds of cession, and 
with reference to its efl'e-fs on the State Rights 
principle. But the gentlemen who had preceded 
him had gone so much into those matters,' and the 
gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Gilmer] especially 
had so fully expressed his (Mr. B's) views on 
most of these points, that he should forbear to 
do so, particularly after the intimation which had 
been.'^iven ihat it was t'ae desire on ail hands that 
the vets r.hould be taken this week, or about the 
first of the next. 

Sir, (said Mr. Bidlack,) I would nr t under the 
circumstances ask 'be attention of honorable gen- 
tleman for a ainffle momeaf, were it not for the 
purpose of .^ho^ving the unjust operation of the 
bill under consideration upon the interest of Penn- 
sylvania. 

In conseqnrnce of th<» charter of the United States 
Bank, and the depo^ue herototore made from ihe 
proceeds of the land sales, the Stale which he had 



the honor, in part, to represent, had been induced 
to embark in onerous undertakings, and to amplify 
and extend their obligations, until they were deeply 
involved. 

Therefore, Mr, B. went on to contend, that, ia 
case there was to be a distribution, Pennsylvania 
was in want of ail she was entitled to; and it was 
apparent to every oae that this biii, upon ihe very 
face of ii, in the first section, went to give t por- 
tion of liie distribiiiive share of Pennsylvania to 
nine of the Western States. For the sake of bre- 
vity, then, starling, at the outset, with endorsing 
nearly all the vis^»7s presented by the gentleman 
who bad just preceded him in relation to the merits 
of the question, and endorsing all the views v»^hich 
that gentleman bad presented at the clcse of his 
remarks, in relation to a coilataral question, he 
(Mr. B ) should proceed to examine the details of 
the bill, so far as they affected bis own State. He 
had said that he endorsed nearly all the views of 
the gentleman from Virginia, in relation to the me- 
rits of this bill. So far a; he recollected them, he 
endorsed all those vie«?s, save the declaration that, 
ia the event of a surplus, he v^-as in favor of distri- 
bution. He (Mr. a.) reserved that for future exami- 
nation- The chairman well knew all his (Mr. B's) 
views in relation to that point. FI.e was not pre- 
pared to say they had undergone nny great change. 
In the Pennsylvania Les:i3lature, whsn himself and 
the chairman of the committee served together 
there, these things were fully discussed. He (JVIr. 
B.) did not endorse the ststemeLt that the surplus, 
if any, should be distributed, because he was op- 
posed to any Ifgislation that would produce a 
surplus. He believed that Congress had no right 
to enact laxvs to produce a revenue greater 
than was required for the economical admini- 
stration of the Governmen'; and any law which 
anticipated or looked to the accumulation of a 
surplus, he believed to be unconstitutional. He 
believed ihat the revenues arising from the pro- 
ceeds of the sales of the public domain, both as to 
that portion of it v/hich was acquired by deeds of 
cession, and that portion of it which was acquired 
by purchase, belonged legitimately to the revenue 
of the General Government, for the purpose of 
paying the current expenses of the Government; 
and that no legislation should be had further than 
to supply deficiencies. If even, under such legis- 
lation, a surplus should accrue, it would then be 
time to examine the constitutional question and the 



question of expediency. Bat "sufficient unto the 
day is the evil thereof." 

Mr. B. next proceeded at some length to show 
the condition oi things m Pennsylvania now, as 
eompar<5d with their situation iu 1835 — appealing 
to his collcagye [Mr. Lawrence, who was in the 
chair] for the truth of his representations. He 
next glanced at the situation of the finances of ihe 
Gencial Government, and at the grounds upon 
which his colleague [Mr.LiWRENCEjhad placed the 
r.3asons for distribution in 1834 and 1835, when he 
[Mr. Lawrence] and iVfr. Bidlack, pere both mem- 
beris of the same branch of the Legislatare of 
their own State. At that time the General Go- 
vernment had a surplus of nearly |20,000,000. 

He need not say that this was not the present 
state of the case. On the very d?-y en which ibe 
chairman of the Comcnittee on Public Lands iriiro- 
duced the bill, the chfiirman of ihe Committee of 
Ways and Means introduced another bill authoriz- 
kg a loan of ^12,000,000, irredeemable for eight 
or ten years; and this too upon the back of the fact 
stated in the report of the Secretary cf the Trea- 
sury that, in adiiiion to the current wants of the 
Government, there were outstanaing- something 
like 18,000,000 of Treasury notes. Now, a<5 ue 
had as yet heard no explanation of the Iran bill. 
he, Mr. B. was not prepsred to say whether gny 
portion of the loan wss i»:,tendcd for the reducli :n 
of this amount of Treasury notes, or for the p::r- 
poses of the current expenses of the Government, 
for the paym.ent of uavy and other pension?, and 
for the increase of fortifications. Bizt, in round 
numbers, he took it thiit we h^^d $8,000 000 afloat, 
and we proposed to borrow p2j000,000 more, and 
this madetke aggreg:\ie sum of |2i}..000,000: ' 

This was different to the case of 1835, when the 
chairman of this committee introduced a resolution 
into the Legii^laiure of Pcnnsyiv'snia upon thi? 
subject. 

Mr. B. paid he introduced this pres.mble asd 
resolution for the purpose of showing what were^ 
the views of the chairman and his party at thai 
time, and to show thai they placed the pr©pri«ty 
of distribution on the same grounds on which the 
gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Gilmeu] said he 
would place a distributior in case of a surplus. 

The resolution offered hy Mr. Lawrence in the 
Pennsylvania Legislature, which that body ihers 
refused to pnss, ^a" read, seitina; forth that — 

"By the oflicial statements fi'oni the Treasury Department of 
the United States, it appears there will be an iinappropriatea 
balance in the Treasury o!' nineteen millions of dollars, sutj- 
ject to the action of Congress during tlie present session, above 
the ordinary demands of the Government; And whereas it is 
presumed that the wisdom of Congress will not suffer that fund 
loaccumul-ite in the Treasury, without devising means by 
which it can be usefully employed (or the benefit of the people 
of this Union," &c. 

Mr. B. contended that it was apparent that the 
principle upon v^hich distribution was c intended 
for, then, was the large amount in the Treasury 
"above the demands of the wants of the Govern- 
ment." He likewi?e insisted thit, by the terms of 
the resolution which followed, the mover had con- 
templated an equal distribution in proportion to 
populaiicn and representation. The first re-olu 
tion, in 1835, was m these words: 

"Hcsolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the Comvionwealth of Pennsylvania in Geii.eral Assembly 
met, That our Senators in Congress, and our Representatives, 



be recommended to use their influence to procure the passage 
of a law authorizii.g the distribution of the surplus revenue 
amongst the several States, in proportion to the number of 
■members from each State in the House of Representatives of 
tlie United States." 

It v;as apparent, continued Mr. B. from all the 
preamble and resolutions of his colleague, that the 
ground cf distribution was the existence of a large 
sLirplas, and the mode of division was to be upoa 
principles of cqaalily. He therefore urged his col- 
leagues to consider of the propriety of amending 
Jhis bill, so as to make it conforra to their own 
viev;s, heretofore expressed, and to the interests of 
their own State. 

Mr. B. said he had wished these to be read, in 
order to show the grounds on which distributioa 
was placed i.i 1835 in the Legislature of Pennsyl- 
vania— -nimely, that there was a surplus of 
$19,000,000 in the Treasury; and, also, for the ij 
purpose of bringing that state of things in contrast I 
wiih the. state cf things which now existed, when, 
so far from being a surplus of |19,000,000, we 
had a right to infer a dehcieocy to nearly that 
amounf, making a diiierenci? in the state of the 
case of neatly 1^40,000,000. The chairman could 
oot have forgotten that on that occafcion he (Mr. 
B.) inijoduced an amendment to these resolulit^ns, 
and in the preamble to that amendment set forth 
the fact that there was then, as there we,s now, 
cau.-:e to suspect ih.it we would at no great distance 
of dme be called to resort to the ultimate remedy 
among nations pfor violated rights. He had set 
fordi the fact that there was a prospect of a war 
with France in consequence of her refusal to pay 
the amoi>ni aci?nowledged to be due for French 
spoliations-. S ich <: prospect he believed had ex- 
isted at that lime; but it hsppened that the thea 
Executive, wjih great determination, as had been 
represented, said to France, "by the Eternal, you 
had belter pay the money," and it xvas paid, and 
tha storm blew over. He {Mr. B.) wouM 
tiierefore ask the reading of only a part of the 
preamble and the accompaajmg resolution, which 
WS3 as foliowc: 

"And whereas, by the prosecution of this m^de of redress, the 
Government of the United States, should it become necessary, 
would unavoidably incur large pecuniary responsibilities 

And whereas, by the several deeds of cession from the dif- 
ferent States to the United States, relinquishing their absolute 
claim to wliat is now termed the public land, it was expresaiy 
agreed and understood that these appropriations, thus mads, 
sliould constitute a common fund for thesupport of the current 
expenses of the General Government, the payment of the na- 
ti(;aal responsibilities then existing, or which might subsequently 
be incurred, to be applied according to "their respective and 
usual proportions of the general charge," and "/or no other 
'purpose whatsoever.^' Tiiei'efore, 

Resolved, That the distribution of the proceeds arising frona 
the sales of the public lands belonging to the Uni-ed States in 
any other way than that pointed out as above, by the p.ncient 
compacts under whicii these very lands are holden, \vould be 
unjust and illegal at any time\ and in view of the probable dif- 
ficulties v/ith a foreign pcwer above referred to, if net in viola- 
tion of good faith, at least expedient and ill-advised a< this time.'- 

Auer a few 'further comments on this branch of 
the subject- 
Mr, B. proceeded to examine the details of the 
bill in itf effects en the intere.^ts cf Pennsylvania, 
first rcmirkini? that, in addition to there being a 
deficit in ihe Treasury at this time, ?nd not a sur- 
pltis, aain 1835, there was now, also, as then, a 
prospect of difficulty with a foreiim power; and 
stating, that in yi'iQVf of all the circumstances of 



(he case, the resolutions in^rodaced into the Penn- 
sylvania Legislature were laid on the table. 

Ke took ihis, then, as an evidence that the Le- 
gislature of Pennsylvania was oppoied 'o disdibu- 
tion, and he now came down to the views of the 
people of bis own Slate, as more recently expressed, 
to wit, during the session of the Legislature Issi 
winter. He would not stop to examiiie how far 
that expression was an expression of ihe vie vis of 
the people of Pennsylvania. He might say much, 
and say it with some feeling, too, in relation to the 
apportionment bill, which had been referred to, and 
as to the introduction of resolutions not fairly ex- 
pressing ihe opinion of the people. 

This unjust and (he verily believed) this uncon- 
stitutional apportionment had been passed the same 
session with ihe Bask bill before commented upon, 
and passed by a par'y accidentally in the mtjoritj'. 
Mr. B. had in that body lent his humble but his 
earcefci and honest efforts ia opposition to both 
those measures, and whatever might be thought of 
the apportionment bill by those who had not ex- 
amined it, Mr. S after passing a high coiiij-li- 
ment upon his coilsague, who wa? in the chair, for 
his high sense of justice on all occasions, appealed 
to him if. in his opinion, it was not imequai, 
and whether the expression • of a Legislature 
elected under it could be supposed to af- 
ford a fair criierion or index of tha popular 
will. He would not detain ihe committee by go- 
ing into specifications. Seme ©f tnem had been 
referred to by his coileagus, [Mr. Brown] and he 
(Mr. BiDLACs) would only add that, even in his 
own d'Stric, in the caunr.y oi Golambia. there wa? 
a populntion bavins only one representative in the 
last Legislature, which was larger than in several 
other counties havirg two represen'atives in the 
same body. 

But for the sake of the argument he was wil- 
ling to take for granted that this expression of 
the Legislature was a true index and criterion 
of the sentiments of th-i psopl'^. And wh>.t v,'a: 
the first resolution on the subject of distribution? 
It was— 

"To resist any and all attempts, imder wtiat pretence soever 
the same may be made, to deprive the people of this State of 
iheirjust proportion of the common inheritance in the public 
lands." 

Now, even taking it for granted that this was 
a true expression of the opinion of the people, 
he, if he were aSeaator, should nni coasider him- 
self ir sir acted to vote for this bill on the very 
ground set forth in this resolution. And when 
he came to the de'ails of the bill, ke would show 
why. 

Here was the second resclution: 

'"To introduce and advocate the passage of a bill providinsr 
forthe distribution of the proceeds of the "^ame [pv.bliclands] 
among the several Slates, in the ratio of their Federal repre- 
sentative population, imder the census of one thousand eight 
hundred and fjrty.-''" 

HtTtv was the eame idea again. It was to be 
a distribution in proportion to the FedeiaU re- 
presentative population under the census. Aod 
ibis was noi such a dtsinbadoc; nor was it 
such a distribution as the re*oluiion of the chair- 
man of ihe committee conteraniatf'd; and b? 
hoped that that gc-'lcman [Mr. LawrengeJ 
would be permitted, if no one eise was, to speek. 
when this bill came into the House; and that he, 



or some other member from Pennsylvania, might 
offer such an amendment as would at least 
make this bill comply v/iih the wishes of the Le- 
.?isi:iture of last winter, and with the principles of 
the re:^oluiion which the chairman himself had 
offered. 

Mr. B. then referred to the first section of the 
bill, ivhich gives ten per cent. &c. to the nine new 
State:^ therein namel, in addidon tcr the two per 
cent, heretofore given. And he referred to the 
report of the Secretary of the Treasury in 1839, to 
show that these Sta'es had already received twelve 
and a half millions of acres of these very lands. 

In addition to this, (Mr. B. said,) it appears to 
me that the provisions of the bill are not only un- 
just in their operation on the old S-ates, who lent 
their treasure and blood to the acquisition and pro- 
tection of these lands,, but unjust in iheir operation 
in relation to these very West'5rnS:ate:3 themselves; 
for the seventh secficn provided that four hundred 
thousand acres of land were to bs given to these 
SiaJes for purposes of internal improvements. And 
for this four hundred thousand, I believe, Jive hun- 
dred thousand is to be substituted. 

Mr. W. C. Johnson was understood to intimate 
that -such «as the intention of the CoLnmitteecn the 
Pui^lic L^nds. 

Then by the acknowledgment of the gentleman 
it was intended to give a half a miilio'-.i. acres to 
certain of the ¥/eslern States, wh^c'.i it would be 
seen by ihe table Mr. B. would b.ang to their no-> 
tice, hid already received more than a million for 
other purposes, while some of the Westera States- 
that had received less than a million, would not 
receive the additional half million, because they 
had already appropriated that amount to internal 
improvement purposes. He would present the ta- 
ble, and thosewho were more iutercoted in this ine- 
quality might examine it and com.iient on it at 
their leisure. 

Mr, BiDLACK proceed-jd to argue the injustice of 
ihis provision upon ihe old S;atf's, and entered into 
many details wnh that view. He deaied that such, 
a distribution would be ia accordance with equity, 
or justice, or the solemn terms of the compact. He 
believed that the people of Pennsylvania would 
never be contented v/ith it, and, looking to the in- 
justice of the distribution itself, he thought that 
every Pennsylvania Representative kere, whatever 
might be his opinion as to the principle of distribu* 
tion, should oppose this bill on account of its de- 
tails. Let gentlemen take either side of the ques- 
tion; let them say, on the one hand, that the land 
belonjred to the States, or, on the other, that it be- 
longed to the United State?; on either ground, the 
di<iribation, if made at all, should be an equal dis- 
tribution. Bat he denied that il belonged to the 
States. If it did, and if they were entitled to it at 
all, they were entitled to it in equal shares, accord- 
ing 10 iheir proportions in the general charge of 
cspendiiure. He denied that such a distribution 
'.rould be carrying out ihe terras cf the compact, 
and this, too, even on the ground that the land be- 
long-jd to the States. 

He here went into an argument to show that 
some or the gentlemen on the r^ her side of the 
question as.?uming the land to belong to the States, 
put them on the terms of a partnership, fer which, 



consisting of twenty-six distinct interests, the Ge- 
neral Government was the mere agent or trustee, 
and he insisted with earnestness that even ia that 
view of the question, the agent wouid be bound to 
account to the parlners in proportion to their re- 
spective intetests in the general fund. 

Sir, said Mr. B. wt iild an agent, utider such cir- 
cumstances, have any right, upon any principles of 
law or moral ethics, to self cc out nine of the part- 
ners, and give them 10. 15, or 20 per cent, of the 
proceeds, and then divide only the residue between 
the whole 26 partners? It was monstrous injus- 
tice ! ! Among other illustrations, he gave the fol 
lowing: It had been estit/iatf d ih&t the nelt proceeds 
would be about ^2,500,000 per annurn. For the 
sake of the iliustrauon, suppose the States, twenty- 
six in number, are equal m population, and ihe 
amount is $2,600,000, giving lo each ^$100 000, 
would it be jusiice to take from the whole 20 pf i 
cent, and give to r.ine of the S.ates, and then di 
vide the residue, wherebj? nine of ihe States wouid 
receive |30,000 per annum more than they wexe 
entitled to, and 'he remaining States wou'd receive 
so much !es^j being, it would be seen, ^1^0.000 tc 
nine of the States, and so ruch less to the reiaain 
ing States each p^r annum? Yet this, Mr. 8. wen 
on to show, wa^ the operation of she biil unde; 
consideratiojf), and thus injuriously did it propose tc. 
affect his own State. For oni, he felt boynd by 
the most solemn obligations to protest c-ig^inst i?. 

He then went on to show that while Peni^sylva- 
nia would get less than her due proporlion, she 
would have, by the peculiar operalioas of the im- 
post laws, to pay more than her due proporiions lo 
make up the deaciency in the Treasury. H'3 could 
not consent to see his Siste csiled upon to pay 
#150,000 for every $100,000 received "under the 
bill. 

This bill contemplates givisg to each of the 
Stales of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Alabama, Mis- 
souri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mi- 
chigan, "over ftud above what esch of the Stages u^ 
entitled to by Uie terms of the compsict entered into 
between them and ibe United States at the time of 
their admission into (he Union," the sura .of ten 
per centum upon the nett proceeds of the sales 
within their respective limits. 

This is not to affect the amount given hereto- 
fore to the Camberland road. Then the expense 
of the whole system is Jo be deducted. In addition 
to this, there has already been given as follows: 
TjL^See table A^ in next column. 
In addition to all this, allow mc, Mr. Chairman, 
to refer you and the commiUee (o the following-: 
Exhibit of the 'quantity of public land granted to compa- 
nies, public institutions, and individuals. 

Acres. 
100,000 



Donations of small tracts to lindividuals are not embraced in 
this statement. 

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Grant to the Ohio Company 

Giant to A. H. Dohrinan for services rendered 
American prisoners during the Ilevokitionary 
war ....... 

Grant to French inhabitants at Galliopolis - 
Grant to the Deaf and Dumb Asylum in Connecticut, 
' a township in Alabama . . - - 

Grant to theDeifand Dumb Asylum in Kentucky, 
a township in Florida .... 

Grant to General Lafayette, a township in Florida 
Lands appropriated for religious purposes, in the 
purchases made by John ClevesSymmesand the 
Ohio Company ..... 

Total, 



20,480 
25,200 



23,010 



21,028 
23,023 



43,525 
258,301 



The bill does not stop here, but as amended it 
gives to each of the Siat-s named in the Jst section 
ihe amount of 600,000 acres, pi ov!ded they have 
not already received that amount for internal im- 
provement purposes. 

After socne pther illustrations Mr. B. then enter- 
ed into the constitutionai argument for the purpose 
of shocking that the laud was the propertv of the 
Unitfd Slates and not of the States; including both 
the land ceded and \he land purchased. But, Mr. 
B. contended, whether it was ihc properly of the 
United States or of the State?, the distribution, if 
there was any, should operate on all alike. 



Among other things, he referred to that provi- 
sion of the Constitution which says Congress shall 
have power to "make all needful rules and regu- 
lations respecting the territory and other properly of 
the United States." He conU;nded that frona the 
very terms of the Coustiiuiion,. these lands or the 
public territory were recogni'-ed &s ihe property of 
the United S'.ates. 

He then went on to show that, in his opinion, the 
bill itself, by dictating the mode of the expenditure 
of a pait at lea>t of the proceeds, also assumed the 
ground that it was the property of ibe United 
States, given as a donation; otherwiae the grantor 
bad no right to direct ihe mode of expenditure. 

He then proceeded to show the incompatibility 
of such a principle with the doctrine of Stale sove- 
reignty and St-.iie ritjhts. Ani then contended that 
in c:.ses where States were indebted, this bill, in- 
stead of benefiuDg the grent bcdy of the people, 
would only operate chiefly to the advantage of the 
S.aie creditors; it v/as, he thought, a measure for 
the benetit of foreiyin stockjobbers and loan hold- 
ers, ^'ho had purchased State obligations at a dis- 
count, and vv'iihed to speculefe upon them. It^ ths 
u-ere not the case, why net di-iiibuie to ihe people 
j)er capital Why not i^ive it to the people, who will 
have 10 pty th? $20,000,000 you are said to bs in 
arreari7 Nay, more; he feared it was the first step 
in a i^cherae for the absoliue assumption by the 
General Government of all the State obligation. 

Mr. u. iitKi directed his remarks to the proof of 
the fact which h<? asserted, that there was no cicss 
iii ihv proceeds of the sales of these lands beyond 
the ejpendsture?. A number of estimates, &s 
were read on this point, which gave rise to some 
explanaiioDs from Mr. Howjird in relation to es- 
tima:es submitted by him y^-sterday on that point 

Mr. I'iDLACK had remarked that he must be 
permitted lo S:ave suScient confidence in the offi- 
c.:r,s under the presezii Administration to place the 
sam'^ reliance upon ?.n es'imate made by them in 
arswer t3 an individaa! application, and to which 
the gentleman from iMichigan had objected on. 
that ground ye.-t8tday. 

Mr. Howard here explained, and called upon 
Mr. B. to give the items by which he made the 
expenditures so large; whereupon Mr. Bidlack 
presented the fo'lowmg estimate, showing the items 
of an exptndituie of more than a hundred millions 
of dollars, ace: mpanying it with various explana- 
tions. 

The whole expenditure under the head of Indian Department 
from the commencement of ttie Government to the 30th of 
September, 1333, aa far as can be ascertained from the re- 
cords of tliis office, amounts to - - - $32,047,598 50 

By the Convention of France of the 3d .\pril, 1803, 
the liiiited States paid for Louisi- 
ana, in stork and money §15,000,000 00 

Ir>f.eregt of the stock, up to the - 
lime it became redeemable - 8,529,353 43 

23,529,353 43 

JBy the treaty with Spain of the 
>M Ftbruarv. It^l9, there was 
paid lor the Floridas ihesumof 85,000,000 00 

Inl'irest 0:1 the stock constituted 
per act oi" the 24ih May, 1824, to 
provide for the awards of the 
commissioners under the said 
ireaiy, up to ih'^ lime it was 
paid off - - - - 1,489,768 66 



including the value o/arms furnished that Slate. 

amounted to - ^ - - - 1,230.000 00 

Amount of Mississippi stock issued under the 
act of the 3d March, 1815, and redeedad at the 
Treasury, exclusive of i,l/e amount rrceivedin 
payment for lands .- - - - l,S32,375 70 

There has been paid for salaries 
and contingent expenses of the 
General Land Oflice - . . . 1,126^609 &3 

For salaries and incidental expenses 
of the several land offices, out of 
the proceeds of sales, while in the 
hands of ihe receivers - -83,227,739 13 

For the salaries of registers and re- 
ceivers by warran's on the Trea- 
surer of the United States - 92,903 39 

3,320,842 52 

For the salaries of surveyors general and iheir 
clerks, and of ilie commissioners for settling 
land claims, &c. - - - - - 1,032,666 80 

And for the survey of public lands - - 3,106,83194 



Cost, including foreign cessions and expense of In- 
dians 873,736,047 38 

The cost in the acquisition and management of 
public lands, exclusive of the sums paid for 
cessions from foreigii Governments, and ex- 
penses of Indian w^ars, for which specific appro- 
propriations were made, amounts to • -28,484,056 65 

SI 02,220, 104 03 



J he payments of the State of Georgia on ac- 
count olIandsreliBquiBbeJto the U.'iiied Siaiea, 



6,4S{',768 66 



This does net inc'ude the amonr;t paid, and to be 
paid, for exiinguishirg tiie Indian tide, which is 
estimated at $81,670,623 81. 

The Secretary of the Trea^ur)', in speik'Dg of 
this matter, says: 

'The report of the Commissioner of Indian AiTairs, commu- 
nicated by theSecretary of War, states that "ihe whole amount 
of public lands to which the Indian title has been extinguished 
is computed to be 419,429,446 acres. The amount paid, and 
obligated to be paid, for the extinguishment of Indian title, is 
computed to be $31,670,823 81." 

The same documenf. estimates the receipts into 
the Treasury from the cale of public land* to 30ih 
September, 1833, exclu-ivc of receip's from lands 
sold fur the b nefit of Indians, §97,900,379 83. 
3at if we do not take the amount paid, and to be 
paid, to exiinguish the Indian liib, it is s'iil evident 
the exrepdiures have exceeded the receipts. la 
addition to all this, we might properly charge the 
lands with Ihe expenses of th-^ Florida war, and 
other wars growing out of ihe defence of the public 
domain. 

Sir, said Mr. B it was one of the charges against 
the late Administration ihatit hsd spent, I believe, 
f 40 000,000 in the defence of these land by the 
Pionda vt ar alone; and the c^kbrated Buckeye 
Blacksmith, Bear, had s'a'.e 1 in a speech for a 
Whig meeting in Mr. B's district, that all that had 
been accomplished by the expedition was the 
" fri;2htening one old squaw to death, who would 
have died in a fevi days if she had been left alone." 
Mr. B. referred to some- other calculations, but the 
Reporter cannot at this time follow these estimates 
out. 

Mr. B. then contended that if, as he believed, 
thi< land was the property of the United States, 
Congress had no more right lo distribute the pro- 
ceeds of the sales ff it than to raise a surplus by a 
course of legisladon affecMHF ike tariff and the im- 
posts of the country, and disirii ute that But evea 
if that were to be done, ihe prmciple recognised by 
this bill would only lead to a scrar.Vr.^e between the 
States as to who should receive ihc i>rgest amotint. 
And he beseeched the gentlemen, it they were go- 
ing to recognise the doctrine that this immense do- 



8 



main belonged to the States, and that the proceeds 
were to be distributed among the States, that they 
■would at least lay down some general principle 
which should be binding upon their future legisla- 
tionj that nothing would be left avubiguous or un- 
certain. He would ask them to adhere to the 
principles recognised by the deeds of cession. He 
then referred to and stated the terms of the deeds of 
cession, showing that the laads were to be consi- 
dered a common fund, " for the use and benefit of 
aU, according to their usual respective proportions 
E the general charge and expenditure." 

This should be the mode of distribution, whether 
the lands belorged to the Union or to the States. 
But why talk of distribution when we have nothing 
to distribute — when we have an empty Treasury, 
aad the mutterings of the storm of war are heard in 



the dif= tance? We would be more properly em- 
ployed in raising funds to finish and repair our for- 
tifications, and to strengthsn the right arm of the 
national defence. If, on the other hcnd, they 
adopted the still more startliRg docfrine that the 
General Government had a right to levy taxes for 
the purpose of accumulating a fund to be after- 
wards returned, by which the people should receive 
about 75 cents on every dollar they were required 
to pay, he asked them not to make the burden more 
onerous upon any one portion of the Union, by 
establishing the precedent that the distribution was 
to depend upon the mere will and caprice of the 
Legislature for the time being. He asked gentle- 
men to ponder well before they acted, and to look 
well to the serious results which must inevitably fol- 
low such a course of legislation. 



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